Today we’d like to introduce you to Walter Pratt
Hi Walter, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Like most high school kids, I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated. Fortunately my parents were able to nudge me in the right direction. My dad had worked with someone who said “If I could do it all over again, I’d be a pilot”. So my parents set me up for something called a discovery flight for my 17th birthday. A discovery flight takes only about 30-45 minutes and consists of a flight instructor and someone interested in aviation. I went up and pushed buttons in a Cessna 172SP and flew the airplane. The instructors said I was a natural! Although now I realize, they probably said that to everyone, it is a business after all. It worked though and 12 years after that first flight, I’m now an airline pilot flying hundreds of passengers a day around the U.S and South America.
My first flight was in May 2012 and by 2014 I had saved up enough money to fly my first 10 lessons. I got my first certificate by the end of that same year. From 2015 through 2017 I had gone through 16 intermediate tests and 12 practical tests to obtain my Instrument, Commercial Single Engine, Commercial Multi Engine and Certified Flight Instructor Certificates. In 2017 I began teaching students how to fly and by 2019 I was teaching new instructors how to teach! I also became a Standards instructor for my flight school and taught the new hire flight instructors the standards and expectations of our flight school in Orlando, Florida.
Mid 2019 I got my first Airline job with Republic Airways and moved to Kansas City, Missouri where I met my wife! By 2021, her and I made the giant leap and moved up to Northern Idaho where we loved to do anything and everything outdoors. In 2022, I got hired with Spirit Airlines operating the Airbus A319/A320/A320Neo/A321/A321Neo aircraft. We moved back to Kansas City in March of 2024 and I’m commuting to Las Vegas for work.
I absolutely love working for Spirit Airlines because (to my knowledge) it gives me the most schedule flexibility out of any airline in the industry. I also continue to mentor the future generation of pilots through my Instagram account @Just_Plane_Cool and have partnered with:
Avi-8 Time Pieces – FlyingEyes Optics – Flight Uniform – Pilot Institute
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Turbulence is always expected when becoming a pilot and my story is no different. As I mentioned previously, there are a LOT of tests.
It “only” took me 4 years to become an airline pilot but, that’s 4 years of constant studying and preparing for your next exam. It’s waking up at 2:30am some mornings to fly 400 miles round trip at barely above highway speeds. Yes the end results are so worth it but, I won’t sugar coat it, it’s not for everyone. I didn’t get along with every instructor I had, and it can be pretty stressful to try to answer questions when your instructor just gave you a simulated engine failure and you’re attempting to land in a field and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Spirit Airlines First Officer based in Las Vegas Nevada. My official responsibility is to “assist the pilot in command of any duties necessary”. Yeah that sounds like I’m the coffee boy or the pencil pusher but what it really means is, I’m Second in Command. That sounds a lot cooler right?!
My parents raised me in such a way that no job is ever “not my job” meaning, if I see someone struggling with trash, I’ll help them out. Sure I’m dressed up in a tie and such but I don’t mind and I think that helps set me apart from some of the other pilots around.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Most people will say you’re successful if you make a lot of money or you went to college and got a great job. You’re successful if you dress nice and have nice things. Who really knows what true success looks like since theres always a pros and cons list. My idea of success is, being able to spend time with my family and have freedom to travel where and when I want.
Ultimately though, success is what you make it. There may be books on “how to become successful” but, fortunately there’s no book that defines what success is.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/justplanecool
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/just_plane_cool/profilecard/?igsh=MWJxN2pscXBwZmwzYg==
